Monthly Archives: August 2017

I’ve struggled to write this post several times as I have to be honest, the adult soft drinks category leaves a lot to be desired! For those of us – pregnant, driving, having a night off the sauce – who want something refreshing without half a packet of sugar dumped in, the options are still incredibly limited.

Having spent the last nine months opting for soft options (today is my baby’s due date but s/he’s showing no signs of making an appearance), I have to say I’m looking forward to enjoying a glass of wine in the not too distant future!

In the meantime, I’ll be sticking to these tried and tested soft options.

Good ol’ sparkling water

Now, humour me here – when it comes to something dry, refreshing and a tad more exciting than still water, sparkling water is actually pretty good at fitting the bill. I’ve tried A LOT of sparkling water over the past nine months, and while some can be excessively carbonated, Badoit Sparkling Mineral Water is much more subtle. Pour into a wine glass with ice, a squeeze of fresh lime and a few mint leaves and you could (almost) fool yourself that you’re drinking something more exciting than water!

Seedlip

It took me a couple of months to get on board with Seedlip – mostly because I was astounded at the £27.99 price tag for something once, albeit unfairly, described to me as flavoured water.

Billed as the world’s first distilled non-alcoholic spirit, this intriguing drink is made much like gin – using a handful of botanicals such as peas, hay, spearmint, rosemary, and thyme for the Garden 108 version, and Allspice, cardamom, lemon, and grapefruit for the Spice 94 version. Much like gin, you can drink it with tonic, or as an ingredient in cocktails and it comes in one of two beautifully designed bottles. Unlike gin however, this innovative product has no sugar, no calories, and no booze!

Back in December, as a gin-lover with nine months of alcohol free nights ahead, I was interested to give Seedlip a try and was very pleasantly surprised. As hinted at in the names, the Garden version has a very herbal profile while the Spice is much more aromatic. For me, Garden 108 evokes flavours I associate more with spring and summer, while Spice 94 would be at home alongside the richer, spicier flavours of autumn and winter. Seasons aside, neither of them is sweet (hurrah!)

Taking the price tag out of the equation – I figured I’d be saving a small fortune on nights out and at weekends without my usual cocktail aperitif or glass of wine to accompany dinner – this product is incredibly exciting and worth trying if you are unable to/ don’t fancy an alcoholic drink. Plus, you’ll feel very smug the next day without that wine hangover!

Not only can you buy Seedlip by the bottle in Waitrose, but the website directs you to a number of bars and restaurants that have created innovative cocktails using these drinks so you can have something more interesting on a night out than soda and lime!